In the Honors College, we pride ourselves on pairing our Senior Honors students with the brightest scholars on campus to direct their senior theses. We just received word that one of our newest advisers, Dr. Max Grivno, assistant professor of history, has won a prestigious award for his research. Dr. Grivno won the C. Vann Woodward Award for his doctoral dissertation completed at the University of Maryland. We're proud to have him working with our students.

The Honors College Ambassadors have been helping us with orientation sessions this week. The ambassadors are an elite group of our best and brightest who help us with recruiting and other events. We literally couldn't do our work without them.  One of their most important jobs is coordinating with our freshmen to ensure that they have a smooth transition into the Honors College. Here's a welcome message for freshmen from ambassador Suzanna Ellzey:

"Hello Honors College Freshmen! Get ready for an amazing first year at Southern Miss in the Honors College. My name is Suzanna Ellzey, and I am one of many Honors College Student Ambassadors. Basically, we are a group of student recruiters who represent the Honors College to upcoming freshmen. Congratulations on your wonderful decision to be a part of a community of high-achieving students and a curriculum that challenges you, provides you with endless opportunites, and supports you in all of your academic endeavors. You have an exciting year ahead, so get ready! SMTTT!" 

The students started streaming in this weekend, and we have a host of welcoming activities to help folks get settled in. This afternoon we held our General Honors orientation for incoming freshmen and went over our policies and procedures in between some snacks and ice-breaking activities. Our first Dean's Podcast is now on Youtube here.

Tomorrow morning we have our Senior Honors orientation, which should be just as much fun.

We're gearing up in the Honors College office for the return of students next week, and we couldn't be more excited about it.

General Honors orientation is at 3:30 p.m. Monday in the Thad Cochran Center, Ballroom II. Honors orientation is at 10 a.m. Tuesday in Ballroom I.

The Honors College Office of National Scholarships and Fellowships will hold an informational meeting about national scholarships at 5 p.m. Tuesday, April 29 in International Center 101.

The meeting is aimed to recruit students who are interested in applying for the most prestigious national scholarships, including Rhodes, Marshall, Truman, Goldwater, Fulbright, Rotary, and others. Freshmen and sophomores who want to apply for these scholarships when they're upperclassmen need to begin preparing for the process now. The meeting is open to all students, not just Honors College folks.

 

Always eager to reach students any way we can, we've posted a video about the meeting on our Youtube channel at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=152RG6XvfkY

Professor John Perry of the Math Department passes along this great photo of Honors College student Garrett Campbell and a math formula he wrote dubbed "Garrett's Arclength Formula."

Some cool stuff is going on in the College when our students are writing their own formulas! Garrett, by the way, is a freshman polymer science major from Daphne, Ala., and a Presidential Scholar.

Today was the day for the annual Honors College student picture with the president. Dr. Martha Saunders greeted the students, who gave her a warm round of applause for her continued and hearty support of the College and its students.

There to help organize were my two favorite graduate student workers, Kendall Yates and Patricia "Bunny" Simmons. Kendall has been with the College for two years and Bunny for one. We so hate to lose Kendall to graduation this semester, but we know she'll do well in her new profession of teaching English as a second language. Good luck, Kendall!

Honors College student Samantha Gregory, pictured here with co-star Mathew Daniel, plays the lead role of Emily Webb in the Southern Miss production of "Our Town," which premieres next week in the Martha Tatum Theatre.

Showtimes are at 7:30 p.m. April 17, 18, 19, 24, 25 and 26 and at 2 p.m. April 20 and 27.

Samantha is a senior theatre major, and I hear she's simply terrific in this role. She's yet another example of Honors College students who successfully juggle multiple interests in their years in the college. As if she didn't have enough on her plate, Samantha is writing a play of her own for her senior thesis.

Editorial cartoonist Ricky Nobile of Hattiesburg, a devoted Golden Eagle supporter who attended Southern Miss, stopped by the Honors College offices today so that we could talk about his book project. Nobile, a cartoonist since 1970 who's now published in 30 Mississippi newspapers, is putting together a book of his cartoons portraying the evolution of Mississippi politics over the past four decades. He and I share a love of political cartooning and an interest in the press and the civil rights movement.

I first met Ricky when he spoke to a group of Honors College students and others at a gathering in Cook Library last year. He impressed me then not only with his talent but with his willingness to help students. I'm looking forward to seeing his book in print in the near future.

I was having my morning coffee in the local doughnut shop Saturday when Dr. Mark Miller popped in for some early-morning sustenance. He was about to begin an all-day field trip with Geography 101 students to Moss Point on the Mississippi Gulf Coast, and he graciously agreed to send me pictures. Dr. Miller, one of our most enthusiastic (and enthusiastically received) profs, led the students through the marsh & swampland of the Pascagoula estuary (top photo). The students also interviewed Beverly Taite in her hairdressing shop (bottom photo).

Here's Dr. Miller's report: The Pascagoula is the largest unaltered (no dams, no levies) river system in the lower 48 states. The tour was by Benny McCoy -- local guide for ecotourists and researchers -- operating out of the new Audubon Center in Moss Point. Ms. Taite is the unofficial historian of Moss Point's Kreole neighborhood, a low-income community that is attempting to maintain its identity. Honors GHY101 students are creating oral history videos about this community and its experiences with Katrina.

Wow. This trip, like all of our active-learning trips, adds so much to our students' education. Dr. Miller, can I go along next time?